YouTube Pranks Push Family Boundaries and Leave Emotional Scars

12 July 2025

Ami and Justin McClure with their kids Ava, Alexis and Jersey. Credit : The Mighty McClures/Instagram

In the age of algorithms and viral hits, YouTube families are increasingly wrestling with the emotional toll of staged pranks, as seen in the new ABC News Studios documentary series Born to Be Viral: The Real Lives of Kidfluencers, now streaming on Hulu. Among the darkest revelations, the Mighty McClures, parents Ami and Justin McClure and their 12-year-old twins Ava and Alexis share what became a jarring lesson: turning family conflict into content can inflict real emotional damage, even when intentions are framed as harmless or entertaining.

The series follows the evolution of digital-first kin like the Fishers of Fishfam and the Mighty McClures, whose channels attract millions with candid “family fun and lifestyle” content. As the show reveals, however, creators often contend with shifting platform dynamics where algorithms reward sensational, emotionally charged content. What begins as simple, entertaining clips can quickly pivot into something darker, designed more to provoke than to amuse.

Episode four, aptly named “Trending,” spotlights this shift. Creators are shown analyzing metrics around planned pranks and mock sibling fights, weighed by views and engagement rates. Madison Fisher likens these provocative formats to “fast fashion” something cheaply made, cyclical, and ultimately hollow. She notes how the algorithm rewards low creative investment over authenticity.

The McClures found themselves at the forefront of this troubling dynamic. Influenced by recommendations from YouTube advisors to chase trending formats, they planned a staged “battle” between Justin and Ami meant to attract attention but stop short of true distress. Ami later warns Justin: be sure not to go too far. Justin proceeds anyway, portraying frustration and even falsely confessing an affair in front of their shocked children. He tells his twins “I have another girlfriend,” suggesting a betrayal so real that even the twins freeze in tense silence.

It’s the kind of staged confession that rings raw in any setting, but in this case, its emotional consequences are real. The girls reacted with genuine rejection, calling the stunt “the worst thing ever,” and refusing to appear on camera the next day. Despite the stunt’s viral potential, the family pulled the video offline opting later to release a counter-messaging video titled “Family Pranks Need to Stop.” Justin admitted the prank was a “bad decision” driven by the lure of view counts.

The Fishfam family encountered similar tensions. In one viral hit, they staged a falling-out between their twin girls, but the emotional intensity and algorithmic reward loop left them questioning whether provocation truly served their family values. Kyler Fisher reflects on the addictive nature of clicks: “People love the demise of another human. They love to watch people be emotional. You kind of get a little bit addicted to the viewership.”

Ultimately, Born to Be Viral shows how families increasingly feel pressured to shape emotional narratives for clicks. Parents face a fraught tug between creativity and monetisation, authenticity and algorithmic demand. In an era where attention equals income, the cost can fall on the people who matter most: the children.

Justin’s regret is plain in the series. A year after the prank, he describes the staged argument as “a defining moment,” a boundary that crossed ethical lines and prompted a firm resolve: “We have to never do anything like this again.”

That candid admission opens a window into changing norms across digital media. When family safety, emotional health, and ethical content creation collide, lines blur. The series forces a question: as viewers scroll, click, and binge, do we hold creators to higher standards when children are involved?

Born to Be Viral serves as both wake-up call and mirror. With creators and parents now reconsidering what counts as “family content,” the show invites reflection on a digital ecosystem that prizes emotional triggers over authenticity. As Justin and Ami McClure have shown, parental instincts do not always align with the algorithm. For their family and others, the decision to stop and reflect may be the most human content of all.